Author: Jonathan Miller

Rethinking Seat Time Requirements for Online Exams 8

What Does Seat Time Serve?

What purpose does “waiting” serve (a.k.a. known as “seat time”)?  It was a rainy weekend, so I thought I’d take online classes to meet my continuing education requirements. I’ve always been a fast test taker, often trying to be the first person in the classroom to bring my answers to the proctor first. I’m one of those annoying people, but if I pass the test, should I be penalized for taking the test fast? For my first appraisal licensing exam years ago, I finished it in around 40 minutes, but we were given 2 hours to take it. Should I...

Appraisal / Snippets

Appraisal Institute Shows A Canadian “Racial Bias” Sting Video And The Audience Almost Came To Blows 14

AI Showed this Video and Anger Ensued

At a recent meeting, the Appraisal Institute showed this video and anger ensued…  The following video was aired in Canada by CBC in March 2021 and has nearly a half a million views.   At a recent meeting, the Appraisal Institute showed this video and anger ensued. The audience was deeply divided, and the conversations almost came to blows. My guess from past actions of AI CEO to remove the diversity committee would assume the FOJs want to continue to hope that this issue goes away and will continue to do little as an organization. And without Rodman’s leadership on...

Appraisal / Snippets

Lowballed... It Is Open Season On Appraisers 42

Lowballed… It Is Open Season On Appraisers

ABC TV Documentary: Our America: Lowballed Because this issue was ignored by the appraisal industry, it is open season on appraisers. Because of the lack of credibility or awareness of the diversity issue that the appraisal industry faces by the two primary appraisal industry organizations, The Appraisal Institute and The Appraisal Foundation, there is no counter that can be presented to this continuing storyline. It’s too late to have our industry review that second report in each of these situations as many appraisers have said. After all, TAF has fostered an appraisal career process that has resulted in an industry...

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TAF Spent $1.4M Of Appraiser’s Hard-earned Money On Lobbying Fees 5

What Are They Lobbying For?

TAF spent $1.4 million dollars lobbying over the past four years using the revenue they take in from appraisers… To set the stage of the complete disdain for the appraisal industry and the public trust… In the 2019 TAF 990 Filing, and based on the assumption their compensation has increased in the last three years, the two leaders of TAF, Dave & Kelly, run a 12 employee entity and make a staggering ± $750,000 annually. No wonder they don’t want to accept grant money to enable oversight in a not-for-profit! But it gets worse… TAF spent $1.4 million dollars lobbying...

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TAF is Making Appraisers Pay to be Misleading 9

TAF Charging for Misleading Classes

From the organization that brought you the bat-shit crazy letter and the chickenshit letter, they are charging for classes that are misleading. ASC just sent a letter to state appraiser regulatory officials pointing out that the USPAP update course is factually inaccurate and puts appraisers in legal jeopardy if they follow it. Letter From Jim Park, Director ASC to State Appraiser Regulatory Officials: 2022-2023 7-Hour National USPAP Update Course The letter references findings and recommendations found in the already presented report 6 months ago: Identifying Bias and Barriers, Promoting Equity: An Analysis of the USPAP Standards and Appraiser Qualifications Criteria This is the meat & potatoes...

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Corelogic Take on Appraisal Overvaluation 10

Corelogic Take on Appraisal Overvaluation

The results of this 2021 white paper: Appraisal overvaluation: Evidence of price adjustment bias in sales Comparisons co-authored by Frank Nothaft are pretty interesting. At first glance, I get the CoreLogic evil empire stuff, but step back and take it all in. Here’s the abstract. Home appraisal came under scrutiny for contributing to the home-price bubble and enabling the origination of risky mortgages that led to the post-2006 foreclosure crisis. Subsequent regulations tried to minimize or eliminate conflicts of interest and improve valuations. Nonetheless, our study of appraisals completed in 2015 and 2016 find that appraisal bias still occurred. Our...

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USPAP Absurdity - Zero Value to Appraisers or the Public 29

USPAP Absurdity

From one of my appraiser colleagues in NYC on a McKissock class, taught by Dan Bradley, husband of Michelle Bradley who is chair of the Appraisal Standards Board of The Appraisal Foundation (this is COMPLETELY UNETHICAL). TAF BOT (the leadership that brought us the bat-shit crazy letter) is meeting in sunny Palm Springs San Diego right at this moment (probably to determine meanings of words like “The” and “This” and “That” and perhaps considering a new take on “misleading” that is still on the books!!!, of course, I realize that’s for the ASB to decide but please allow me some...

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TAF Conflates Real Estate Appraisers with Appraisers 9

TAF Conflates Real Estate Appraisers with Appraisers

Why do I take the time to mention “real estate appraisers” and “real estate appraisals?” instead of just “appraisers” and “appraisals”? Personal property appraisers and business appraisers aren’t required by any state to follow USPAP, don’t pay anything for licensing and certification fees to any state, and are not subject matter experts on anything to do with real estate at all, ever. But… the Appraisal Standards Board and Appraiser Qualifications Board are chock a block full of non-real estate appraisers. Didn’t TAF/ASC arise from problems in the real estate profession? Was it ever the intent of the original remit for...

Snippets

ALOFT = “A Lack of Freaking Talent” - Appraisers Blogs 5

ALOFT = “A Lack of Freaking Talent”

When I read the announcement that Fifth Wall funded a relatively new startup called ALOFT, I and many of my peers were confused on what the value proposition actually is. Backed by a VC, including some of the biggest… In addition to Fifth Wall, Aloft’s backers include VC firms Andreessen Horowitz and MetaProp, Zillow and Pacaso co-founder Spencer Rascoff, Built CEO Chase Gilbert and Doordash executive Gokul Rajaram. …means that this funding is very expensive for ALOFT but they are trying to disrupt a very low-margin industry. I thought of the following acronym translation, not aimed at the management team,...

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Appraisers Are Ghosting AMCs? 62

Appraisers Are Ghosting AMCs?

From The Chrisman Commentary (Rob is a mortgage broker but an essential source of information on the mortgage industry). You can subscribe here. From Appraisals are near the top of any list of current lender and borrower complaints about the processing of mortgages. This week I received this note from Mike Simmons, Co-President of AXIS AMC. “I’ve heard of something overhanging the appraisal industry. Namely, that appraisers are ghosting (abandoning) orders and are beyond accountability. Part of my responsibility at AXIS Appraisal Management Solutions is to attend lender conferences and talk about the appraisal industry, and addressing difficult topics centered...

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